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After completing the semester, I have attempted and accomplished taking different tools and concepts and applying them to my future career goals. It is evident how crucial technology plays in my desired ndustry. The media is drastically changing and will continue to change throughout the future years to come.

There are multiple new media platforms that are being used by not only traditional forms of media but advertising, PR, and broadcasting professionals are instilling these platforms in their careers as well. Today, a majority of individuals get their news delivered through social media platforms. Many companies are hiring other social media companies to monitor and maintain their social media sites. Nobox Creative is a perfect example of a consultant company that monitors and maintains other companies social media sites. It is crucial that companies break through fragmentation and avoid clutter and by hiring these companies, brands are being more noticeable among their target market. Prior to social media, individuals wanting to find out about a company or brand usually find this information through traditional platforms such as TV or radio, but today we go directly to the companies social media pages such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Also, companies are using social media to communicate to their audience when dealing with crisis. Many organizations today are seeing the importance for companies and news corporations to deal with a crisis plan immediately via social media. It is crucial that they must be the first to address it instead of waiting for rumors to spread throughout these mediums. Instead of having a crisis management plan, companies are hiring PR professionals to closely monitor social media cites and to correctly address social media crisis’. Advertisers are now using different platforms to target a particular audience. From my own experience, I will be browsing through Facebook and an ad directly related to me regarding my own life will be located on the right side of my page. It’s amazing how companies are able to directly target one specific audience. Two different people may be watching a TV show but the commercials may be altered depending on the individuals psychographics and demographics. I believe that advertising will continue to be more targeted within the years to come. With thousands of ads that we are exposed to per day, companies have to avoid clutter and stick out to their audience. Broadcasting professionals are using new platforms to communicate with their audiences as well. For example, Sarah Jones, a professor in England came to visit us and give us insight on how she tapes video and shares them via the internet almost instantaneously. Everything that she uses to shoot and edit was located in her purse. She explained how easy it has been to create something professional and share it to viewers on the internet. New media platforms will continually aid companies and professionals in their careers.

There are numerous new media concepts and terms that we have discussed this semester but a couple were applicable to me. According to an internet safety article which provides multiple statistics regarding cyberbullying, only 7% of U.S. parents are worried about cyberbullying, even though 33% of teenagers have been victims of cyberbullying. I am currently taking an interpersonal communication class and the statistics are overwhelming, stating how much more is said to individuals over a technology device compared to a face-to-face interaction. With roughly 85% of youth ages 13-17 having a social media account, it is imperative that this type of bullying be controlled. In my law class last semester, we discussed how young children are taking their lives because they are being bullied online. This type of bullying must stop and we must educate young children the precautions of this type of act. Privacy is also raising concerns especially when focusing on young children. Belynn and Brianna provided a great infographic supporting multiple facts of young children on the web. The idea of privacy is ideal yet it is far more in depth than sitting beside a computer screen. Every online move we make on the internet leaves footprints. Does the internet have any aspect of privacy? We reveal so much about ourselves through social media and even job employers take this into consideration. During my interview, my employer asked what type of social media platforms I used. This shows how cautious we must be when posting on our personal accounts. Lastly, social media is drastically changing the way we think of crowdsourcing. Social media is believed to become an important component to crowdsourcing because it is allowing companies to reach a wider audience not only faster but cheaper as well.

Prior to starting the semester, I thought I was a tech savvy student but after completing the class I have learned about different tools that will help me be successful in the future. I have learned how to correctly use Twitter professionally. Yes, it may be a social tool used to communicate with friends and family but it has truly opened the doors and provided so much insight to myself and to my future career. Following other professionals and companies and tweeting new media content daily allowed me to learn multiple different aspects of social media. I have also found how important it is to know how to use Hootsuite. Being a very important social media organization tool, you are able to use it personally or more commonally, business related. You are able to track different social media sites at once, schedule tweets, and even analyze social media traffic. Knowing this tool, I will use it in my future career and it will benefit me positively. Another tool I found to be equally interesting was Google Glass. How fortunate are we as a class to be some of the very first students to have hands on experience with Glass. Although I would not define myself as an early adopter, I think the people that will be purchase Glass will be happy with the different options that Glass has to offer. Another tool that I found very intriguing was KickStarter. This website allows people to share different ideas and could potentially bring projects to life. Crowdemand, which was just recently released, is very similar to Kickstarter. It allows designers to connect with their consumers. LinkedIn was always a tool that was highly talked about in my media classes. It allows you to share what you have done in the past with potential employers. Many companies use LinkeIn and highly recommend having a personal account. Last but not least we learned how Pinterest can be used for the promotion of businesses. Prior to the class, I thought that Pinterest was used only for personal usage but it’s a great way for businesses to show case their work.

Everything that has been learned throughout the semester has and will continue to impact our society. We are able to easily connect with everyone around us instantaneously. Although there are many different positive effects of new media, we have learned that there are aspects that effect it negatively as well. There is fear about privacy rights and the concerns over cyberbulling. My biggest fear for our society is the heavy reliance we have on our social devices. How much have we missed out on due to being glued to our phones? Also, I have learned that new media entails more than just social media but different tools and advancements that continually emerge. We are able to experience a man jumping off out of space due to the GoPro camera and a man who can hear color due to the advancements by Google Glass. No matter what, new media is changing at a rapid rate and us as future professionals in this field must embrace the changes and instill them in our careers.

Trying to define New Media is almost impossible. It’s something that is constantly changing. It’s available any time, anywhere, and on different media platforms. It involves user feedback and includes consumer participation. Today, media has become more interactive and engaging.

Past and Present:

Looking at how history has changed is remarkable. We have evolved into something that was probably once unimaginable. Newspapers and magazines are now all offered online and are now more interactive toward consumers. Information is now released through Twitter and Facebook. TV is not able to keep up with current news before individuals such as ourselves our posting posts or tweets on social media websites. Technology is changing so quickly, it is impossible to predict what media will arise in the upcoming years. Today, websitess such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are growing at a remarkable rate. Advertiser’s are taking advantage of this and hope to engage the consumers using these websites. According to an article on CNBC, the United States spent 121 billion minutes on social m edia sites in July 2012 alone. That is 388 minutes- or 6- 1/2 hours per person. All together, that’s 230,060 years we spend staring at a screen. I imagine this will only increase with time.

Future:

Looking at these statistics, it’s almost frightening to think what social media will look like in 5 years. When is enough, enough? Has social media taken over our lives as individuals? According to Nielsen, the time we spend on social media and apps via cellphone has increased 63% in 2012. Looking at these astound stastics, I start to wonder if we as individuals have changed socially. A conversation between 2 people has evolved into something completely different. Individuals are not meeting online…who would of thought this 20 years ago? I hope social media doesn’t evolve into something that over takes our lives. We must remain focused on ourselves before spending countless hours staring at a computer.

Time Time Time:

According to Social media Examiner, the survey found that consumers are increasingly looking to their smartphones and tablets to access social media.

While the PC is still the most widely used device when it comes to social media consumption, the study found that time spent on mobile apps and mobile websites accounted for a 63% increase (compared to 2011) in total time spent. (Social Media Examiner)

Hours upon hours are spent on phones. With Facebook, Email, Twitter, and Texting, phones have consumed our lives.

Advertiser’s:

Advertiser’s are taking full advantage of the increase in usage of mobile phones. Placing Ads on Apps such as Pandora or games such as Candy Saga have allowed advertiser’s to engage themselves in our daily lives. Advertiser’s are fully aware that Mobile usage will only continue to grow. This arises a problem however, that advertiser’s will be faced with fragmentation. There are so many different platforms through our mobile devices, it’s hard from an Advertiser’s standpoint to target their audiences.

Money:

According to Points and Figures, there are 5 mobile advertising trends. Each of these deal closely with mobile devices.

Mobile shopping ads will be increasingly local.

Local mobile advertising networks will emerge supporting large and small retailers

Content distributor networks will facilitate small merchant exposure

Native local advertising through Facebook and Twitter will expand

Advertisers will focus on local customer engagement as the measure of ad effectiveness

From a money standpoint, there has been a sharp increase of money spent on Mobile Advertising from 2010-2015. Advertiser’s see the potential and will continue to take advantage of Mobile Advertising.

There are multiple trends in social media. These trends are constantly changing and progressing. There is no telling where social media will be in 3 months, let alone 3 years. Technology is always changing, making it difficult yet exciting to be in the media field. According to Social Media Examiner, there are 7 different social media trends.

Twitter:

The most interesting social media trend and one that affects me personally, Twitter has emerged as the most powerful driver of “social TV interaction.” At anytime, one is able to go to Twitter and look up a particular TV hashtag, and find multiple information regarding that TV show. It has allowed the audience to use Twitter to share their thoughts and ideas with friends and family. Advertiser’s have taken advantage of this and engage in more consumer interaction.

Commercials:

Advertiser’s are seeing the growth in Twitter and are not placing hashtags at the end of the commercial. For example, the popular Kmart commercial has gone viral through different social platforms. According to the YouTube video, that was recently released, it already has over 12 million views. This is a prime example when videos are shared through media platforms, they can go viral quickly and the audience can be targeted.

News:

According to Social Media Examiner, Consumers are using social media as an outlet for intaking news stories. Consumers’ experiences (70%); find more information about brands, products and services (65%); and compliment brands (53%). I know personally, I heard about the Boston Marathon tragedy as well as the West, Texas explosion. Individuals don’t have to read the newspaper nor watch the news to get the story. It’s all offered through these media platforms. We tend to think of social listening something only marketers possess but in reality, consumers are the active listeners and advertiser’s are trying to engage the consumer knowing this particular information.

According to Creative Media Awards, there are multiple media awards that were given in 2012. These awards are labeled as branded entertainment, business media, content marketing, creativity, media planning, and many others. Looking through the website the most interesting award was given to Aquafresh Nurdles. This campaign incorporated TV, video on demand, digital and print media. This increased the kids attention and got them excited about brushing their teeth.

Competition?

The main competition that Aquafresh was faced with was Crest and Colgate.

Strategy and challenge?

Their strategy was to run this particular song that ran each evening at 7:58 p.m.. Thinking that children would heard this sing and would encourage them to want to brush their teeth. I think their toughest challenge was the large amount of competition. There are countless toothpaste companies so the individuals who launched this particular campaign knew they would be faced with competition.

Mix?

This campaign incorporated TV, video on demand, digital and print media to reach their particular audiences.

Outcome?

Looking at the outcome, the consumption increased 95%. This campaign was extremely successful.

Recently, there has been a significant increase in Ad spending on social gaming. There are many factors believed to have caused this increase. Ad spending has increased 60% since 2009, according to eMarketer. Advertisers are realizing that millions are spending their time playing social games and they see the potential of capturing this audience. Social Game Media offers clients the ability to reach customers across the full spectrum of online advertising channels. This website is very accessible and offers different types of campaigns and clients.

Engagement:

Social gaming advertising offers advertisers to better track down how much engagement they are getting when the audience is playing a particular game. With TV and print, it is very difficult to target who the ad is affecting. With social gaming there are surveys and other features that allow advertisers to gage this.

Audience:

Some social games have a bigger audience than prime time TV. Farmville for example, had 30 million players per day. Not to mention most social games are becoming free to play, it is capturing a larger audience. Games are also becoming easier to learn and very basic which allows the target market to broaden.

Brands:

Brands are now becoming part of the game. For example, Old Navy launched themselves in a game called, It Girl, and players were able to purchase clothing within the game. “They’ve very much integrated their brand into the game experience,” Wexler said about the integration.

Awards:

Who doesn’t like awards? With social gaming, advertisers are offering different types of prizes. Either, free give aways or other various awards that attract the audience to spend more time on these games.

Magazines and Newspaper advertising remain very popular among different types of entities. According to our media sheets, they’re many advantages to Magazine advertising as well as Newspaper advertising. Along with these advantages, disadvantages also play a role when advertising.

Advantages/Disadvantages to Magazines:

First off, magazines are very targeted and tend to market to a niche audience. Also with the ability to use color and creativity it broadens the horizon for a stronger, more catchy advertisement. Magazines also allow flexibility, involvement, and services. With these unique features it is easier to measure the audience of a particular magazine. Although magazines have their advantages, it is very expensive to advertise in magazines. Clutter and lead time are also factors when dealing with the negativity of magazine advertising.

Advantages/Disadvantages to Newspapers:

According to the Newspaper Media sheet, locally, newspapers are able to run without much competition. This is very different from other mediums who are facing clutter and competition within their medium. Also, newspapers tend to be more communitive in small towns. Unfortunately, they’re many disadvantages to newspapers. I believe the biggest is it’s becoming very outdated. Subscriptions are quickly decreasing and the content isn’t as interesting and up to date as other mediums may be. It also is believe to be static and environmentally negative. Who owns the media, is a great website to look at. In the link, it shows the top newspaper companies and other various information that can help when focusing on advertising.

Measurement Company:

Both magazines and newspapers are measured by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. According to their website, ABC is a “not-for-profit membership organization that exists for the benefit of advertisers and the media they use. How do they do it? “AAM connects advertisers, advertising agencies and publishers to discuss challenges, successes, issues and trends in the media industry.” This business has been around for many years and continues to be very successful and helpful to advertisers.

Radio and TV are still very popular when it comes to dealing with advertising. According to Bryce Edwards, owner of KGNC, there are 19 commercial radio stations in Amarillo, TX. Among these 19 radio stations, it is estimated that 97% of individuals in Amarillo consume radio in a course of week. Statistically speaking, it is believed that 74% consume TV in a course of a week in the Amarillo area. Both of these percentages are significantly higher than I anticipated. Advertising for these 2 mediums are continually growing and becoming more successful for the media buyer.

Ratings:

Arbitron, the rating system for Radio is a necessary tool when estimating radio advertisement. It provides various information regarding the successfulness in each radio station. It also provides charts, surveys, and other tools to help increase consumer behavior. Like Arbitron, Nielsen is the rating system for TV and is also a necessary tool when measuring TV consumer behavior. When browsing this website, it was evident that the website was made web friendly. It was easy to gain access to a variety of information and was very helpful when looking for statistics and data.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Radio:

Radio and TV both have many advantages and disadvantages when looking at advertising. First, radio is probably one of the cheapest ways to advertise a product or service. It is also very flexible when deciding on when and where to advertise. Radio allows individuals to target a niche market which can be helpful when the product or service is very targeted. I believe the biggest disadvantage to radio is the “easy click.” When sitting in my car and an advertisement starts to play, I am more willing to change the station to another more quickly than if I was watching TV. The new technology has also allowed the creation of Pandora and Sirius has also made it difficult for Radio advertisers to target their market. I believe that since radio is constantly changing and there is other means of listening to music, there is going to have to be another alternative found in order to stay alive in the advertising world.

Advantages and Disadvantages to TV:

TV is able to target to a large audience with the use of visuals and creativity. They’re also allowed to provide live coverage as well as flexibility when creating an advertisement. Although there are many advantages to TV, disadvantages such as clutter is very difficult to break away. Also the cost of an advertisement is usually much more expensive than other mediums. With DVR being created, some have the advantage of skipping over the advertisements, therefore making it extremely difficult for advertisers to find a way to make sure their target audience is seeing their message. TV has always been very popular when it comes to advertising and I truly believe it will continue to be successful.

Recently, we have focused much of our attention on OOH advertising (AKA Out-Of-Home). This includes billboards, street furniture, transit, and alternatives. Out-Of-Home advertising is a fast growing industry. According to Brad Tully, President of Choice Media, OOH advertising is growing at an astonishing 8.2% increase per year. OOH advertising comes in second to Internet which is growing at a rate of 11% per year. More importantly, digital advertising is growing significantly. Digital advertising can be found in large cities such as Dallas, LA, New York, etc. Unfortunately, Amarillo does not allow digital advertising due to different regulations that the city has put in place. Personally, I believe that digital advertising could potentially be very successful in this area.

Creativity

OOH advertising intrigues me due to the abundant amount of creativity that can be done within this form of advertising. Large audiences can be reached and frequency is at an all time high. Also, the flexibility of creating an advertisement is endless. According to an article on Ad Age, James Rubin discusses how brands are making out-of-home the entry point for consumer engagement. Their goal is to make these advertisements more engaging for the consumers.

Targeting the Audience

Recently, TV and radio are having a difficult time knowing how to target an audience. With DVR and other programs, it is difficult for advertiser’s to find a way to reach their audience. With OOH advertising, driver’s do not have the option of fast forwarding a billboard. It will be very interest to see how this type of advertising will change in the upcoming years. I believe it will only become more successful and potentially by-pass Internet advertising.

The picture below is an interesting chart of how Digital Advertising has evolved.

According to the textbook, there are three keys to success when working in local media. The first, matching media with markets, focuses on the planner’s goal to find the perfect media match. Secondly, the local market profile, focuses creating a complete local market profile. This is a lengthy process but is worth it in the end. Finally, research on a local level, covers the research aspect. The planner will take information and judgement and combine into a plan that will be success for the client.

Local Media Sources:

There are many options for advertiser’s in this area to advertise their business or product. TV, magazines, newspapers, radio, internet, and out-of-home (billboards, bus benches, stadium signage, etc) summarizes the local media sources that can be used when targeting audiences. For example, Choice Media Advertising is a local business who focuses on billboards in areas such as Amarillo, Lubbock, Odessa, Midland, and Clovis.

Local Market Analysis:

According to Amarillo Economic Development, there are many businesses that are considered the top employers in this local market. Bell Helicopter, Tyson Food, Hastings, Atmos Energy, and AT&T are just a few.

After surfing through the website, the local population has increased significantly. In 1990 the population was 196,144. In 2010 the population increased to 246,859. The male population from 1990 was estimated to be 94,442 and increased to 123,286 in 2010. The female population also increased. In 1990, the female population was 101,702 in 1990 and 123,573 in 2010. Race is heavily white with an overall increase in hispanics. Also marital status has changed over the years. Looking at the graph it appears that there are is an increase in divorces as well as marriages. The website also provides information regarding educational attainment. Unfortunately, grades K-8 is projected to have a decrease from 2010 to 2015. Fortunately, College Graduate degrees have increased at a percent of 45.90 from 1990-2000. Overall, I believe the local economy is growing in a positive direction. The population, marriage rates, and educational attainment are overall positive.

Connecting the market:

Out-of-home: Choice Media

Medium: Sakura

Advertiser: A billboard is usually successful when placed with food advertisements. Choice media can offer a billboard very close to the restaurant so individuals who drive see the billboard and are instantly drawn to this place. Also, a billboard is almost describes as a “point-of-purchase.” The billboard tells the audience exactly where the restaurant is.

Newspaper: Amarillo Globe News

Medium: Real Estate

Advertiser: Usually Real Estate companies have lengthy information to tell their target audiences. The newspaper is a successful way of telling audiences their message as well as sharing pictures of properties that may be for sale. The target audience will usually look in the paper for ads such as these.

Magazine: Amarillo Magazine

Medium: Bridal Company

Advertiser: The magazine is a perfect place to target a niche market. Because of this, the Bridal Company will be able to target their particular audience. Usually brides who are looking to get married search for ideas and ways to make their perfect day even better. The Amarillo Magazine is able to provide much information as well as pictures.

Radio: 93.1

Medium: Midnight Rodeo

Advertiser: 93.1 has a very niche audience and are able to provide short and quick information to their audience. The individuals who go to midnight rodeo usually are around the same age of the individuals who listen to 93.1. Although midnight rodeo may be targeted as a country bar, the “Piranha room” targets another crowd.

TV: KFDA Channel 10

Medium: Cake Company

Advertiser: Since the Cake Company is not targeting a niche market, they need to attract a large audiences. Channel 10 is the leading market share in Amarillo. This channel ensures that the ad will be watched by many different audiences and therefore is the best option for the Cake Company.